CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT.
THE LIGHTHOUSE COMPLETED--RUBY'S ESCAPE FROM TROUBLE BY A DESPERATEVENTURE.
There came a time at last when the great work of building the Bell RockLighthouse drew to a close. Four years after its commencement it wascompleted, and on the night of the 1st of February, 1811, its brightbeams were shed for the first time far and wide over the sea.
It must not be supposed, however, that this lighthouse required fouryears to build it. On the contrary, the seasons in which work could bedone were very short. During the whole of the first season of 1807, theaggregate time of low-water work, caught by snatches of an hour or twoat a tide, did not amount to fourteen days of ten hours! while in 1808it fell short of four weeks.
A great event is worthy of very special notice. We should fail in ourduty to our readers if we were to make only passing reference to thisimportant event in the history of our country.
That 1st of February, 1811, was the birthday of a new era, for theinfluence of the Bell Rock Light on the shipping interests of thekingdom (not merely of Scotland, by any means), was far greater thanpeople generally suppose.
Here is a _fact_ that may well be weighed with attention; that might benot inappropriately inscribed in diamond letters over the lintel of thelighthouse door. Up to the period of the building of the lighthouse,the known history of the Bell Rock was a black record of wreck, ruin,and death. Its unknown history, in remote ages, who shall conceive,much less tell? _Up_ to that period, seamen dreaded the rock andshunned it--ay, so earnestly as to meet destruction too often in theiranxious efforts to avoid it. _From_ that period the Bell Rock has beena friendly point, a guiding star--hailed as such by storm-tossedmariners--marked as such on the charts of all nations. _From_ that datenot a single night for more than half a century has passed, without itswakeful eye beaming on the waters, or its fog-bells sounding on the air;and, best of all, _not a single wreck has occurred on that rock fromthat period down to the present day_!
Say not, good reader, that much the same may be said of all lighthouses.In the first place, the history of many lighthouses is by no means sohappy as that of this one. In the second place, all lighthouses are notof equal importance. Few stand on an equal footing with the Bell Rock,either in regard to its national importance or its actual pedestal. Inthe last place, it is our subject of consideration at present, and weobject to odious comparisons while we sing its praises!
Whatever may be said of the other lights that guard our shores, specialgratitude is due to the Bell Rock--to those who projected it--to theengineer who planned and built it--to God, who inspired the will todare, and bestowed the skill to accomplish, a work so difficult, sonoble, so prolific of good to man!
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The nature of our story requires that we should occasionally annihilatetime and space.
Let us then leap over both, and return to our hero, Ruby Brand.
His period of service in the Navy was comparatively brief, much more sothan either he or his friends anticipated. Nevertheless, he spent aconsiderable time in his new profession, and, having been sent toforeign stations, he saw a good deal of what is called "service", inwhich he distinguished himself, as might have been expected, forcoolness and courage.
But we must omit all mention of his warlike deeds, and resume the recordof his history at that point which bears more immediately on the subjectof our tale.
It was a wild, stormy night in November. Ruby's ship had captured aFrench privateer in the German Ocean, and, a prize crew having been putaboard, she was sent away to the nearest port, which happened to be theharbour of Leith, in the Firth of Forth. Ruby had not been appointedone of the prize crew; but he resolved not to miss the chance of againseeing his native town, if it should only be a distant view through atelescope. Being a favourite with his commander, his plea was receivedfavourably, and he was sent on board the Frenchman.
Those who know what it is to meet with an unexpected piece of great goodfortune, can imagine the delight with which Ruby stood at the helm onthe night in question, and steered for _home_! He was known by all onboard to be the man who understood best the navigation of the Forth, sothat implicit trust was placed in him by the young officer who hadcharge of the prize.
The man-of-war happened to be short-handed at the time the privateer wascaptured, owing to her boats having been sent in chase of a suspiciouscraft during a calm. Some of the French crew were therefore left onboard to assist in navigating the vessel.
This was unfortunate, for the officer sent in charge turned out to be acareless man, and treated the Frenchmen with contempt. He did not keepstrict watch over them, and the result was, that, shortly after thestorm began, they took the English crew by surprise, and overpoweredthem.
Ruby was the first to fall. As he stood at the wheel, indulging inpleasant dreams, a Frenchman stole up behind him, and felled him with ahandspike. When he recovered he found that he was firmly bound, alongwith his comrades, and that the vessel was lying-to. One of theFrenchmen came forward at that moment, and addressed the prisoners inbroken English.
"Now, me boys," said he, "you was see we have konker you again. Youbehold the sea?" pointing over the side; "well, that bees your bedto-night if you no behave. Now, I wants to know, who is best man of youas onderstand die cost? Speak de trut', else you die."
The English lieutenant at once turned to Ruby.
"Well, cast him loose; de rest of you go b'low--good day, ver' mochindeed."
Here the Frenchman made a low bow to the English, who were led below,with the exception of Ruby.
"Now, my goot mans, you onderstand dis cost?"
"Yes. I know it well."
"It is dangereoux?"
"It is--very; but not so much so as it used to be before the Bell RockLight was shown."
"Have you see dat light?"
"No; never. It was first lighted when I was at sea; but I have seen adescription of it in the newspapers, and should know it well."
"Ver goot; you will try to come to dat light an' den you will steer outfrom dis place to de open sea. Afterwards we will show you to France.If you try mischief--voila!"
The Frenchman pointed to two of his comrades who stood, one on each sideof the wheel, with pistols in their hands, ready to keep Ruby in order.
"Now, cut him free. Go, sare; do your dooty."
Ruby stepped to the wheel at once, and, glancing at the compass,directed the vessel's head in the direction of the Bell Rock.
The gale was rapidly increasing, and the management of the helm requiredhis undivided attention; nevertheless his mind was busy with anxiousthoughts and plans of escape. He thought with horror of a Frenchprison, for there were old shipmates of his who had been captured yearsbefore, and who were pining in exile still. The bare idea of beingseparated indefinitely, perhaps for ever, from Minnie, was so terrible,that for a moment he meditated an attack, single-handed, on the crew;but the muzzle of a pistol on each side of him induced him to pause andreflect! Reflection, however, only brought him again to the verge ofdespair. Then he thought of running up to Leith, and so take theFrenchmen prisoners; but this idea was at once discarded, for it wasimpossible to pass up to Leith Roads without seeing the Bell Rock light,and the Frenchmen kept a sharp lookout. Then he resolved to run thevessel ashore and wreck her, but the thought of his comrades down belowinduced him to give that plan up.
Under the influence of these thoughts he became inattentive, and steeredrather wildly once or twice.
"Stiddy. Ha! you tink of how you escape?"
"Yes, I do," said Ruby, doggedly.
"Good, and have you see how?"
"No," replied Ruby, "I tell you candidly that I can see no way ofescape."
"Ver good, sare; mind your helm."
At that moment a bright star of the first magnitude rose on the horizon,right ahead of them.
"Ha! dat is a star," said the Frenchman, after a few momen
ts'observation of it.
"Stars don't go out," replied Ruby, as the light in questiondisappeared.
"It is de light'ouse den?"
"I don't know," said Ruby, "but we shall soon see."
Just then a thought flashed into Ruby's mind. His heart beat quick, hiseye dilated, and his lip was tightly compressed as it came and went.Almost at the same moment another star rose right ahead of them. It wasof a deep red colour; and Ruby's heart beat high again, for he was nowcertain that it was the revolving light of the Bell Rock, which shows awhite and red light alternately every two minutes.
"_Voila_! that must be him now," exclaimed the Frenchman, pointing tothe light, and looking enquiringly at Ruby.
"I have told you," said the latter, "that I never saw the light before.I believe it to be the Bell Rock Light; but it would be as well to runclose and see. I think I could tell the very stones of the tower, evenin a dark night. Anyhow, I know the rock itself too well to mistakeit."
"Be there plenty watter?"
"Ay; on the east side, close to the rock, there is enough water to floatthe biggest ship in your navy."
"Good; we shall go close."
There was a slight lull in the gale at this time, and the clouds broke alittle, allowing occasional glimpses of moonlight to break through andtinge the foaming crests of the waves. At last the light, that had atfirst looked like a bright star, soon increased, and appeared like aglorious sun in the stormy sky. For a few seconds it shone intenselywhite and strong, then it slowly died away and disappeared; but almostbefore one could have time to wonder what had become of it, it returnedin the form of a brilliant red sun, which also shone for a few seconds,steadily, and then, like the former, slowly died out. Thus,alternating, the red and white suns went round.
In a few minutes the tall and graceful column itself became visible,looking pale and spectral against the black sky. At the same time theroar of the surf broke familiarly on Ruby's ears. He steered close pastthe north end of the rock, so close that he could see the rocks, andknew that it was low water. A gleam of moonlight broke out at the time,as if to encourage him.
"Now," said Ruby, "you had better go about, for if we carry on at thisrate, in the course we are going, in about an hour you will either be adead man on the rocks of Forfar, or enjoying yourself in a Scotchprison!"
"Ha! ha!" laughed the Frenchman, who immediately gave the order to putthe vessel about; "good, ver good; bot I was not wish to see theScottish prison, though I am told the mountains be ver superb."
While he was speaking, the little vessel lay over on her new course, andRuby steered again past the north side of the rock. He shaved it soclose that the Frenchman shouted, "_Prenez garde_," and put a pistol toRuby's ear.
"Do you think I wish to die?" asked Ruby, with a quiet smile. "Now,captain, I want to point out the course, so as to make you sure of it.Bid one of your men take the wheel, and step up on the bulwarks with me,and I will show you."
This was such a natural remark in the circumstances, and moreover sonaturally expressed, that the Frenchman at once agreed. He ordered aseaman to take the wheel, and then stepped with Ruby upon the bulwarksat the stern of the vessel.
"Now, you see the position of the lighthouse," said Ruby, "well, youmust keep your course due east after passing it. If you steer to thenor'ard o' that, you'll run on the Scotch coast; if you bear away to thesouth'ard of it, you'll run a chance, in this state o' the tide, ofgetting wrecked among the Farne Islands; so keep her head _due east_."
Ruby said this very impressively; so much so, that the Frenchman lookedat him in surprise.
"Why you so particulare?" he enquired, with a look of suspicion.
"Because I am going to leave you," said Ruby, pointing to the Bell Rock,which at that moment was not much more than a hundred yards to leeward.Indeed, it was scarcely so much, for the outlying rock at the northernend named _Johnny Gray_, lay close under their lee as the vessel passed.Just then a great wave burst upon it, and, roaring in wild foam overthe ledges, poured into the channels and pools on the other side. Forone instant Ruby's courage wavered, as he gazed at the flood of boilingfoam.
"What you say?" exclaimed the Frenchman, laying his hand on the collarof Ruby's jacket.
The young sailor started, struck the Frenchman a backhanded blow on thechest, which hurled him violently against the man at the wheel, and,bending down, sprang with a wild shout into the sea.
So close had he steered to the rock, in order to lessen the danger ofhis reckless venture, that the privateer just weathered it. There wasnot, of course, the smallest chance of recapturing Ruby. No ordinaryboat could have lived in the sea that was running at the time, even inopen water, much less among the breakers of the Bell Rock. Indeed, thecrew felt certain that the English sailor had allowed despair toovercome his judgment, and that he must infallibly be dashed to pieceson the rocks, so they did not check their onward course, being too gladto escape from the immediate neighbourhood of such a dangerous spot.
Meanwhile Ruby buffeted the billows manfully. He was fully alive to theextreme danger of the attempt, but he knew exactly what he meant to do.He trusted to his intimate knowledge of every ledge and channel andcurrent, and had calculated his motions to a nicety.
He knew that at the particular state of the tide at the time, and withthe wind blowing as it then did, there was a slight eddy at the point of_Cunningham's Ledge_. His life, he felt, depended on his gaining thateddy. If he should miss it, he would be dashed against _Johnny Gray's_rock, or be carried beyond it and cast upon _Strachan's Ledge_ or_Scoreby's Point_, and no man, however powerful he might be, could havesurvived the shock of being launched on any of these rocks. On theother hand, if, in order to avoid these dangers, he should swim too muchto windward, there was danger of his being carried on the crest of abillow and hurled upon the weather-side of _Cunningham's Ledge_, insteadof getting into the eddy under its lee.
All this Ruby had seen and calculated when he passed the north end ofthe rock the first time, and he had fixed the exact spot where he shouldtake the plunge on repassing it. He acted so promptly that a fewminutes sufficed to carry him towards the eddy, the tide being in hisfavour. But when he was about to swim into it, a wave burst completelyover the ledge, and, pouring down on his head, thrust him back. He wasalmost stunned by the shock, but retained sufficient presence of mind tostruggle on. For a few seconds he managed to bear up against wind andtide, for he put forth his giant strength with the energy of a desperateman, but gradually he was carried away from the rock, and for the firsttime his heart sank within him.
Just then one of those rushes or swirls of water, which are common amongrocks in such a position, swept him again forward, right into the eddywhich he had struggled in vain to reach, and thrust him violentlyagainst the rock. This back current was the precursor of a tremendousbillow, which came towering on like a black moving wall. Ruby saw it,and, twining his arm amongst the seaweed, held his breath.
The billow fell! Only those who have seen the Bell Rock in a storm canproperly estimate the roar that followed. None but Ruby himself couldtell what it was to feel that world of water rushing overhead. Had itfallen directly upon him, it would have torn him from his grasp andkilled him, but its full force had been previously spent on_Cunningham's Ledge_. In another moment it passed, and Ruby, quittinghis hold, struck out wildly through the foam. A few strokes carried himthrough _Sinclair's_ and _Wilson's_ tracks into the little pool formerlymentioned as _Port Stevenson_.
[The author has himself bathed in Port Stevenson, so that the reader mayrely on the fidelity of this description of it and the surroundingledges.]
Here he was in comparative safety. True, the sprays burst over theledge called _The Last Hope_ in heavy masses, but these could do him noserious harm, and it would take a quarter of an hour at least for thetide to sweep into the pool. Ruby therefore swam quietly to _TrinityLedge_, where he landed, and, stepping over it, sat down to rest, with athankful heart, on _Smith's
Ledge_, the old familiar spot where he andJamie Dove had wrought so often and so hard at the forge in former days.
He was now under the shadow of the Bell Rock Lighthouse, which toweredhigh above his head; and the impression of immovable solidity which itscold, grey, stately column conveyed to his mind, contrasted powerfullywith the howling wind and the raging sea around. It seemed to him, ashe sat there within three yards of its granite base, like theimpersonation of repose in the midst of turmoil; of peace surrounded bywar; of calm and solid self-possession in the midst of fretful andraging instability.
No one was there to welcome Ruby. The lightkeepers, high up in theapartments in their wild home, knew nothing and heard nothing of allthat had passed so near them. The darkness of the night and the roaringof the storm was all they saw or heard of the world without, as they satin their watch tower reading or trimming their lamps.
But Ruby was not sorry for this; he felt glad to be alone with God, tothank Him for his recent deliverance.
Exhausting though the struggle had been, its duration was short, so thathe soon recovered his wonted strength. Then, rising, he got upon theiron railway, or "rails", as the men used to call it, and a few stepsbrought him to the foot of the metal ladder conducting to theentrance-door.
Climbing up, he stood at last in a place of safety, and disappearedwithin the doorway of the lighthouse.